Two words: Free Beer
Two more words? I’m there.
My family paid a surprise visit to me this weekend and I was unprepared to host so, naturally, I figured I’d better get them out of my house. Also, with unemployment weighing down my wallet, I figured our activity should probably be free. Lastly, I like beer. I put these ingredients into my brain, shook well, and decided to head over to the Magic Hat Brewery.
The facility is just off the main drag, but not visible from the road because it’s nestled, like everything else in this state, in a grove of trees. Once you DO locate the brewery, it’s quite a site. The factory is huge, bland and industrial looking but, for some reason, I felt excited driving in. Interestingly, there is a complete lack of signage which adds to the allure but makes it pretty hard to tell where exactly to go. Fortunately for us, this destination seems to be popular and we simply followed a stream of people through some very cool industrial doors. (Note that there is no “entrance” sign…just some happy-looking red stars.)
Once inside, our eyes adjusted to the dim lighting to see a large warehouse-esk layout filled with Magic Hat merchandise. A friendly host informed us that the tour had already started (we arrived at 1:05 for a 1:00 tour) and we could either visit the bar or join up with the large group. Seeing as it was 1 in the afternoon, my fam and I decided it was probably better to catch this tour instead of visiting a bar for an hour before the next one began. Drat.
The tour was too crowded, but it really didn’t matter. Our tour guide was experienced, knowledgeable and funny and he did a great job speaking loudly and clearly to the group. The beginning of the tour began with a history of the company. Personally, I enjoyed hearing that they used to allow actors to use extra space (hence the ‘performing arts center’ portion of the name) to rehearse and put on shows. More so, though, I enjoyed the story of the ill-fated creation of a garlic beer which lasted only 3 hours on the bar scene. (The guide explained that the extra beers were later used as a punishment. Late to work? Chug a warm 22 oz garlic beer. Lost a stupid bet? Chug a warm 22 oz garlic beer.)
Next, the tour covered the brewing and bottling process while overlooking the vast facility. (While this part was cool to see, I recommend going on a weekday when they are actually producing tasty beverages.)
There is no longer room for perfoming arts in the packed factory
During this part of the tour, yours truly won a pint glass by being the first to correctly answer a trivia question. Sweet.
This is my "I-just-won-a-pint-glass-for-correctly-answering-a-trivia-question" dance.
After taking a few more photos and oohing and ahhing, we were led to the bar for…wait for it…free samples. My fiance and I stood at the bar and had quite a few samples. I’m the sort of person who enjoys learning about my beer and the bar tenders here were great about sharing everything from stories behind the beers’ creation to what kind of flavors to search for when sampling. Plus, they didn’t make me feel bad about wanting to try everything. (Howl, a porter-esk beer, was delicious.)
All in all, I had a great time and so did my family, until they realized that they had forgotten their ID’s at my apartment. (Tip: Don’t do that.) I’m not sure I would call the experience “Magical,” but I certainly recommend seeing the set up for yourself. And besides…dude… free beer.
Until next time,
A Stranger Observing Burlington, Vermont – Elek
A Stranger Observes Burlington, Vermont 